WILLIAMSTOWN — There was no further discussion from the respective head coaches that Wednesday’s Wheeling Central and Williamstown girls basketball game was won in the second quarter.

Granted, Addie Payton’s 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation was the difference-maker in Wheeling Central’s 54-51 win, but the Maroon Knights forced the Yellowjackets to play catchup after going on an 11-0 run in the latter portion of the second quarter.

For those final eight minutes before halftime, Williamstown managed just one field goal. At the six-minute mark of the third quarter, the Yellowjackets trailed by 14 (34-20).

“Bottom line, the night was decided in the second quarter,” Williamstown coach Danny Bunch said. “You just can’t get yourself in a hole like that. We had an opportunity late, so I am proud of the girls for that.”

Wheeling Central, the top-ranked team in Class AA, improved to 13-1 and gained an edge in the regional seedings. Kaitlyn Blake led the Maroon Knights with 22 points and Seneca Heller added another 15 points.

Williamstown’s Annabelle Haught, left, drives into the lane as Wheeling Central’s Bella Fitzsimmons tries to close the opening during Wednesday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I don’t know who scored what, but I know we gave up six points in the second quarter and that was pretty much the game for us,” Wheeling Central coach Roberta Olejasz said. “Our style of playing is running, right? And so we came out and we weren’t getting our run-outs that we like to do.

“We told the girls, you have to take the ball and go. Even when they make it, which they only made one shot in the second quarter, you have to get out and go. And that started working very well for us.”

The atmosphere inside Williamstown High School had all the making of a regional contest. When Faith Pickens’ last-second attempt from just inside half court hit the front of the rim, The third-ranked Yellowjackets (11-4) and coach Bunch still felt they have something to say when the regional pairings play out.

Another game with high intensity occurs Friday when Williamstown hosts St. Marys.

“Losing this game is really going to hurt us for that top seed in the region,” Bunch said. “I guess it’s not out of the question, but I think we made it a lot tougher. I told the girls, even it doesn’t work out that we aren’t the top seed – last year we weren’t the top seed and we still end up at the state tournament and made the final game. So it’s not the end of the world.

Williamstown’s Quinn Bunch, right, applies defensive pressure on Wheeling Central’s Addie Payton (11) during Wednesday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“We play Wheeling Central tonight, get one day off and play another tough team in St. Marys. That’s how exactly the state tournament is going to be if you are lucky to make it.”

Williamstown owned the first quarter from the opening tip as Quinn Bunch knocked down a pair of threes as part of her 11 points. Annabelle Haught’s bucket with 21 seconds remaining in the opening period gave the Yellowjackets their largest lead at 13-6.

Over the next 11 minutes, Williamstown managed just one field goal and Wheeling Central was executing its run-outs, especially in the second quarter where it made 6-of-9 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Trailing 34-20 in the second half, Williamstown began its surge which consisted of a 12-4 run and brought the Yellowjackets to within 38-32.

At one juncture, Haught made the second of two free throws then stole the ensuing inbounds pass for the layup as part of her game-high 13 points. Balanced scoring among the five starters guided Williamstown with Pickens (10), Arissa Burt (9) and Gracie Montgomery (8).

Williamstown senior Faith Pickens, middle, gathers with her teammates in recognition of her 1,000th career rebound as a Yellowjacket after Wednesday’s game against Wheeling Central in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Williamstown had an answer for everything tonight,” Olejasz said. “Haught was tremendous. For having just nine games in, she just kind of took over at the end of the game.”

After Wheeling stemmed the tide momentarily and increased the lead to 48-40, chaos ensued for the final three minutes. Bunch and Haught contributed a bucket and Burt made both ends of a two-shot foul to close the deficit to 48-44. After a Heller free throw, pretty much the entire gym could hear Pickens calling for the ball atop the 3-point arc. The senior hit nothing but nylon and the Yellowjackets now trailed 49-47 with 42 seconds showing on the clock.

Another two Heller free throws were followed by consecutive drives to the bucket for Haught, which tied the game at 51-51 at 23 seconds.

The Maroon Knights didn’t waste much time as an open Payton stood on the right baseline. Wide open, she paused momentarily when she received the pass then buried the three at six seconds.

“Payton is a shooter for us,” Olejasz said. “The last two teams we played did a really good job of taking her away, so we have been working on figuring out how to get her open.

“We were just in the locker room and she was like, ‘Left, right, boom!'”

Wheeling Central took advantage of a dead ball to take its final timeout at six-tenths of a second and Haught in charge of the inbounds pass at halfcourt.

Bunch set a pick on Pickens’ defender and Pickens rolled to the center of the court with Payton closely guarding. The shot was on line, but hit the front of the rim as time expired.

“I thought I was going to airball it,” Pickens said. “Honestly, a game like tonight gives us confidence. We know we didn’t play our best game and there’s always room for improvement.

“So this leaves a little chip on our shoulder for Friday’s game because that is another big game.”

Earlier in the game, Pickens surpassed 1,000 rebounds for her career to go with her 1,000-plus points as a Yellowjacket.

“The 1,000 rebounds – it’s a goal I’ve looked for and aimed for since my freshman year,” Pickens said. “It’s something that very few people have done here. It’s just really special. It’s a job that I know I had to do for my team.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com